In a welcome move for all the people interested in vehicles with hybrid tech, the Uttar Pradesh government has waived the road tax on all strong hybrid models. The move is an initiative of the government to promote eco-friendly transportation alternatives. Here is how much cheaper it will make different cars:
The Subsidy
The waiver being applied is to the road tax levied on vehicles. Previously, the Uttar Pradesh government levied an 8 per cent road tax on cars priced below Rs 10 lakh. In comparison, a 10 per cent tax was levied on vehicles priced above Rs 10 lakh (ex-showroom).
The Affected Models
The cars that will get a direct advantage from this policy change are the ones with strong hybrid setups along with their engines. These are mainly from the 3 Japanese companies, Toyota, Honda and Maruti Suzuki. This subsidy will make Maruti Suzuki's Grand Vitara and Invicto cheaper on-road. In the Toyota portfolio, the Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder and Innove Hycross will be cheaper. Honda's only model with a hybrid powertrain, the Honda City e:HEV, will become more affordable.
The government has yet to reveal whether luxury models like the Camry and the Vellfire will receive this discount.
Amount Saved
Maruti Suzuki
The Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, with a starting ex-showroom price of 21.50 Lakh, came with a road tax of around 1.98 Lakh, which will be removed with this subsidy. The Invicto's effective price will be reduced by 2.88 Lakh.
Toyota
The Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder will get a Rs 2.04 Lah discount on its hybrid models, bringing their cost down from Rs 20.04 Lakh and 24.29 Lakh to 18.37 Lakh and 22.25 Lakh. On the other hand, the Innova Hycross hybrid, which would initially go from Rs 31.52 Lakh to Rs 37.36 lakh on-road, would retail in the range of Rs 28.93 lakh to Rs 34.26 lakh with an effective price cut of 3.11 Lakh.
Honda
The Honda City e:HEV will get a reduction of around 2 Lakh, bringing its price range from 24.32-23.40 Lakh to around 22.31-24.40 Lakh.
Hybrids For Transition
Hybrid vehicles seem to be the perfect transitory solution for car buyers until the world moves to electric cars, as highlighted in our previous article here. They seem presently better than EVs as they do not require additional investment in infrastructure like charging stations, they are cheaper for the customers, and they are also more reliable than the new EV tech. Meanwhile, they pollute way less than ICE models and have significantly better fuel efficiency.
The UP government is also focusing on increasing EV sales. They announced a three-year exemption from tax and registration fees on buying them. This exemption is increased to five years for EVs manufactured inside the state.
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